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Very interesting post. To me it brings to mind the story of the "Grand Inquisitor" by Dostoevsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Inquisitor . The bravo moment of the story imo is the charge of plagiarism, as the story itself is clearly plagiarism of the events of the Gospel, just with a different time and place. In any event the Gospel of John both relates how Christ slipped away when a group intended to make him king by force, and he also states later that "My kingdom is not of this world."

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Jacob, your philosophical reading and knowledge has already far surpassed my own. I have enough knowledge to be generally impressed. I also second "sometimes a grumpy curmudgeon's" amazement at your writing skills. I'm not sure I could write anything helpful to this post without reading Hart, Beach, and more Hegel than the little bit I already have. Biblical and Historical Theology are where I am most well read.

Even though I don't understand as well as I wish, I'm glad to have read this. No, this is no the same as a conversation with you would have been, but it is good. I look forward to having an in person conversation with you the next time you have a chance. Until then, I will continue to pray for you as you navigate the sea of faith.

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I continue to be amazed at what a good writer you are, Jacob! And, very proud of you! So bear with me for my unsophisticated thoughts. This is what I thought of...

Interesting, Jehovah's Witnesses feel the the advent of Christandom by Constantine was a mistake that would eventually lead God's people astray. They are probably not surprised by any decline in the Church. From JW writings...

Where did this form of church leadership, combined with State approval, lead? The book Imperial Rome explains: “Only 80 years after the last great wave of persecution of Christians, the Church itself was beginning to execute heretics, and its clerics were wielding power almost equivalent to that of the emperors.” Surely this is not what Christ had in mind when he said that his disciples were to be “no part of the world” and that they should conquer it, not by force, but by their faith.​—

And more.....Historically, Christendom has claimed to believe in the Bible and to be its guardian. But the religious organizations of Christendom have been associated with some of the most appalling horrors of history, from the Crusades and pogroms of the Middle Ages to the Holocaust of our own time. Is the conduct of Christendom a good reason to reject the Bible? The truth is, Christendom has proved to be a false friend of the Bible. 

And...In view of the fact that Christendom as a whole has acted so much against the interests of the Bible, it is remarkable, indeed, that the book has survived until today and still exercises a good influence on many people’s lives. The Bible has survived bitter opposition to translating it, onslaughts from modernistic scholars, and the unchristian conduct of its false friend, Christendom. Why? Because the Bible is unlike any other written work. The Bible cannot die. It is the Word of God, and the Bible itself tells us: “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures for evermore.”​—

Maybe this has all been inevitable, a natural evolution for an institution of the fallen. Or, maybe this is the "humbling recognition" that is needed in order to go forward.

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